Coedpoeth
Encyclopedia
Coedpoeth is a village and a local government community
, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales
.
of the placename
is from Welsh
coed "wood
" with poeth meaning, in its original sense, "burnt", although the modern Welsh word translates as "hot". The name therefore translates roughly as "burnt wood", perhaps referring to the charcoal burning heritage in the village and local woods.
In its early history the area known as Coedpoeth was not a settlement, but was described (in 1411) as a "waste" and is still the case in 2011 - an uncultivated area - and later as a "common", presumably a wood with rights of common
, in the upper part of the township
of Bersham
. Even as recently as 1832, the village of Coedpoeth did not yet exist as it currently does, and was instead four small hamlets. The Nant (from the Welsh word nant, a stream or brook) to the south possessed two mills on the River Clywedog
: Adwy'r Clawdd (literally "the gap in the dyke") to the north-east was named after a gap in Offa's Dyke
. The Talwrn (from Welsh talwrn, a bare hillside) in the valley of the River Gwenfro
to the north, was home to several small-scale coal mines, and the name of the Smelt, to the west, referred to smelting
of lead
in the area. These four hamlets became areas of Coedpoeth which grew, due to increasing industrial development of the aream, around the inns and market hall on the ridge that became the high street of the village. The changes in population were reflected by a new church opening in 1875, with a replacement stone-built church, dedicated to St. Tudfyl, being opened in 1895 as a "chapel of ease" within the ecclesiastical parish of Minera
. By the 1860s, the village was named Coed Poeth, and this form of the name remained up until the 1940s at the latest. The majority of 18th to early 20th century buildings in the village are constructed from local sandstone
quarried at Penygelli quarries, with later examples being built with Ruabon
red brick.
In civil administrative terms, Coedpoeth remained within the civil parish
of Bersham. Later reorganisations, notably the 1974 changes subsequent to the 1972 Local Government Act, saw Coedpoeth included in its own local government community
, with Bersham village placed in the community of Esclusham
.
The 20th century saw a decline in the area's traditional industries, and all have now disappeared. Today Coedpoeth is a dormitory village supporting people who work in Wrexham, and a provider of goods for local farms and hamlets. There are still many small businesses in the village centre along the high street; However, these small shops face fierce competition from large retail
chain store
s in Wrexham.
Coal mining in Coedpoeth is documented from the early 15th century. Limited and shallow extraction took place throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in order to satisfy the needs in particular of the local iron industry. However, significant extraction did not begin until the sinking of the first deep shafts in the early 20th century. Little now remains of the industry. Of the collieries, buildings survive at Plas Power, a number of colliery waste tips survive and the remains of shallow workings and bell pits are relatively common in some areas, with scheduled examples near Nant Mill. Plas Power Hall, was built in 1757 by the Myddleton family, its name was changed to suit one of its early owners, Sir Henry Power. Sadly it was demolished in 1951. but the stables remain after a fight to list them led by Councillor Gordon Roberts of Middle Road.
The village once had its own railway station on the Wrexham and Minera Railway of the Great Western Railway
— albeit in name only as it was sited in the parish of Minera. A campaign was launched in 1905 by the business people of Coedpoeth to have a branch line laid from the station to the village centre, one mile distant. Local businesses claimed the station's location was of little benefit to them. The Great Western Railway company did not share a similar opinion and the campaign was abandoned in 1906.
Originally offering through services to two further halts on the line; Vicarage halt serving western Minera, and Berwig Halt, the station was a passenger terminus from 1926 and eventually passenger services were withdrawn from 1930, although heavy goods use of the line continued for Berwig Quarry and Minera Limeworks until closure of the line in 1970 after the Limeworks was reduced to a base for road aggregates and was served by road.
Bus services first came to the village in the 1920s first offered by the local government's Wrexham & District Transport Co. Ltd bus service from Wrexham, and followed by Great Western Railway's own bus services. Eventually Crosville Motor Services
expanded into the area, and remained up until Arriva North West and Wales came to manage all of their services, vehicles and depot in the area.
Today, the village is linked to Wrexham by two bus services, one run by Arriva
and another by D Jones and Son, also GHA Coaches
provide a night time service, as well as all routes through the village going on to Ruthin
and Denbigh
, which now also stop along the high street. George Edwards and Son used to provide a daytime service but in late 2008 they sold their service routes to D Jones and Son.
Ysgol Clywedog
, in nearby Wrexham. A Welsh language school, Ysgol Bryn Tabor, shared the same complex as Penygelli Infants to the South of the A525, which was part early 20th Century, with a large 1980's extension. Originally the local LEA
planned to refurbish the original building on the North side of the road, but after a fire which destroyed the Welsh Slate roof, this building was demolished and materials reclaimed for an affordable housing scheme on the site. As a result of the loss, a new school complex was built and opened in July 2006, and Penygelli Infants and Penygelli Juniors are now one school again. Ysgol Bryn Tabor are now on the old Penygelli Infants site. The old junior school building was left vacant until demolition during March 2007. The site was then used for a new community centre and hall, named Plas Pentwyn.
The original local library was a Carnegie Library
built in 1904 as Coedpoeth Free Library. It cost £1,500 at the time, all of which was donated by Andrew Carnegie
, the Scottish-American Steel magnate. It was built using the same local sandstone as other buildings in the village, from quarries nearby, and stands opposite the villages memorial park and bowling greens. When opened, the ground floor featured a billiard table in a games room, as well as a refreshments room, with the rear of the building used for meetings of the local parish government. The first floor was where the reading room, which could also be used as a lecture room, was located. As the library was modernised, the library itself was moved to the large game room on the ground floor, and the remainder of the building dedicated to being the community councils headquarters.
As the old library became more and more used by the local schools, as well as local people, the facilities available at the old library were deemed to be to inadequate. In 2008, the library was moved to Plas Pentwyn, leaving the old library's sole purpose as the headquarters for Coedpoeth Community Council, which has had a growing role in recent years.
plain and the town of Wrexham
. In the neighbouring Clywedog
valley there are several walks.
The highest point of the village is Rock Place at 800 feet (245 m) above sea-level. The neighbouring village of Bwlchgwyn
, is one of several claiming to be the highest village in Wales, at 1090 feet (333 m).
The area is prone to snowfall, and has suffered localised flooding in recent years.
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
History
The etymologyEtymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the placename
Welsh placenames
The placenames of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English...
is from Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
coed "wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
" with poeth meaning, in its original sense, "burnt", although the modern Welsh word translates as "hot". The name therefore translates roughly as "burnt wood", perhaps referring to the charcoal burning heritage in the village and local woods.
In its early history the area known as Coedpoeth was not a settlement, but was described (in 1411) as a "waste" and is still the case in 2011 - an uncultivated area - and later as a "common", presumably a wood with rights of common
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
, in the upper part of the township
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
of Bersham
Bersham
Bersham is a small Welsh village in the suburbs of the county borough of Wrexham that lies next to the River Clywedog. Wrexham owes a large amount of its original industrial heritage to Bersham, but despite this the village still retains a rural feeling....
. Even as recently as 1832, the village of Coedpoeth did not yet exist as it currently does, and was instead four small hamlets. The Nant (from the Welsh word nant, a stream or brook) to the south possessed two mills on the River Clywedog
River Clywedog
The River Clywedog in the county borough of Wrexham, Wales has always been the lifeblood of the area, watering crops and livestock since early times, powering corn mills and driving industrial machinery...
: Adwy'r Clawdd (literally "the gap in the dyke") to the north-east was named after a gap in Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork, roughly followed by some of the current border between England and Wales. In places, it is up to wide and high. In the 8th century it formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys...
. The Talwrn (from Welsh talwrn, a bare hillside) in the valley of the River Gwenfro
River Gwenfro
The River Gwenfro is a small river in Wrexham County Borough, north Wales. It is a tributary of the Clywedog. The name Gwenfro is possibly derived from the Welsh language words gwen , "white", and bro, "border", "boundary"....
to the north, was home to several small-scale coal mines, and the name of the Smelt, to the west, referred to smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
in the area. These four hamlets became areas of Coedpoeth which grew, due to increasing industrial development of the aream, around the inns and market hall on the ridge that became the high street of the village. The changes in population were reflected by a new church opening in 1875, with a replacement stone-built church, dedicated to St. Tudfyl, being opened in 1895 as a "chapel of ease" within the ecclesiastical parish of Minera
Minera
Minera is a small village, and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.The community, which in addition to Minera village includes a number of smaller hamlets such as Gwynfryn and New Brighton and large areas of farmland, had a...
. By the 1860s, the village was named Coed Poeth, and this form of the name remained up until the 1940s at the latest. The majority of 18th to early 20th century buildings in the village are constructed from local sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarried at Penygelli quarries, with later examples being built with Ruabon
Ruabon
Ruabon is a village and community in the county borough of Wrexham in Wales.More than 80% of the population of 2,400 were born in Wales with 13.6% speaking Welsh....
red brick.
In civil administrative terms, Coedpoeth remained within the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Bersham. Later reorganisations, notably the 1974 changes subsequent to the 1972 Local Government Act, saw Coedpoeth included in its own local government community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
, with Bersham village placed in the community of Esclusham
Esclusham
Esclusham is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.The community includes the villages of Bersham, Rhostyllen, Aber-oer, Llwyneinion and Pentre Bychan, as well as a number of smaller settlements, the park at Erddig, and an area...
.
The 20th century saw a decline in the area's traditional industries, and all have now disappeared. Today Coedpoeth is a dormitory village supporting people who work in Wrexham, and a provider of goods for local farms and hamlets. There are still many small businesses in the village centre along the high street; However, these small shops face fierce competition from large retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
chain store
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
s in Wrexham.
Lead and coal mining
The village was surrounded by natural resources such as lime, iron ore, coal, and lead, and many ruins show the industrial past of the area. The earliest industry was lead smelting and a portion of the village has roads with "Smelt" in their name.Coal mining in Coedpoeth is documented from the early 15th century. Limited and shallow extraction took place throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in order to satisfy the needs in particular of the local iron industry. However, significant extraction did not begin until the sinking of the first deep shafts in the early 20th century. Little now remains of the industry. Of the collieries, buildings survive at Plas Power, a number of colliery waste tips survive and the remains of shallow workings and bell pits are relatively common in some areas, with scheduled examples near Nant Mill. Plas Power Hall, was built in 1757 by the Myddleton family, its name was changed to suit one of its early owners, Sir Henry Power. Sadly it was demolished in 1951. but the stables remain after a fight to list them led by Councillor Gordon Roberts of Middle Road.
Transport
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
— albeit in name only as it was sited in the parish of Minera. A campaign was launched in 1905 by the business people of Coedpoeth to have a branch line laid from the station to the village centre, one mile distant. Local businesses claimed the station's location was of little benefit to them. The Great Western Railway company did not share a similar opinion and the campaign was abandoned in 1906.
Originally offering through services to two further halts on the line; Vicarage halt serving western Minera, and Berwig Halt, the station was a passenger terminus from 1926 and eventually passenger services were withdrawn from 1930, although heavy goods use of the line continued for Berwig Quarry and Minera Limeworks until closure of the line in 1970 after the Limeworks was reduced to a base for road aggregates and was served by road.
Bus services first came to the village in the 1920s first offered by the local government's Wrexham & District Transport Co. Ltd bus service from Wrexham, and followed by Great Western Railway's own bus services. Eventually Crosville Motor Services
Crosville Motor Services
Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator running within the north west of England and north and mid Wales.-History:The company was formed as Crosville Motor Company Limited on 27 October 1906 in Chester, by George Crosland Taylor and his French business associate Georges de Ville, with the...
expanded into the area, and remained up until Arriva North West and Wales came to manage all of their services, vehicles and depot in the area.
Today, the village is linked to Wrexham by two bus services, one run by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
and another by D Jones and Son, also GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches
GHA Coaches is a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Their current total of bus operations has increased dramatically in recent years after purchases of other local bus operators such as Bryn Melyn, Chaloner's, Hanmers Coaches and Vale of...
provide a night time service, as well as all routes through the village going on to Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
and Denbigh
Denbigh
Denbigh is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Before 1888, it was the county town of Denbighshire. Denbigh lies 8 miles to the north west of Ruthin and to the south of St Asaph. It is about 13 miles from the seaside resort of Rhyl. The town grew around the glove-making industry...
, which now also stop along the high street. George Edwards and Son used to provide a daytime service but in late 2008 they sold their service routes to D Jones and Son.
Education
Coedpoeth has two schools Penygelli and Ysgol Bryn Tabor (a Welsh-medium school). Originally one school in a Victorian building located to the North of the A525, Ysgol Penygelli was split into an infants school incorporating a nursery year and years 1-2, and a junior school, incorporating years 3-6. The junior school is a feeder for the secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
Ysgol Clywedog
Ysgol Clywedog
Ysgol Clywedog, is a comprehensive school which serves parts of the town of Wrexham in north-east Wales.Ysgol Clywedog is located in the south-west suburbs of Wrexham...
, in nearby Wrexham. A Welsh language school, Ysgol Bryn Tabor, shared the same complex as Penygelli Infants to the South of the A525, which was part early 20th Century, with a large 1980's extension. Originally the local LEA
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
planned to refurbish the original building on the North side of the road, but after a fire which destroyed the Welsh Slate roof, this building was demolished and materials reclaimed for an affordable housing scheme on the site. As a result of the loss, a new school complex was built and opened in July 2006, and Penygelli Infants and Penygelli Juniors are now one school again. Ysgol Bryn Tabor are now on the old Penygelli Infants site. The old junior school building was left vacant until demolition during March 2007. The site was then used for a new community centre and hall, named Plas Pentwyn.
The original local library was a Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library, Carnegie Public Library, Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie Free Public Library, Andrew Carnegie Library, Andrew Carnegie Free Library or Carnegie Library Building may refer to any of the following Carnegie libraries:- California :*Carnegie Library , listed on the National Register...
built in 1904 as Coedpoeth Free Library. It cost £1,500 at the time, all of which was donated by Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, the Scottish-American Steel magnate. It was built using the same local sandstone as other buildings in the village, from quarries nearby, and stands opposite the villages memorial park and bowling greens. When opened, the ground floor featured a billiard table in a games room, as well as a refreshments room, with the rear of the building used for meetings of the local parish government. The first floor was where the reading room, which could also be used as a lecture room, was located. As the library was modernised, the library itself was moved to the large game room on the ground floor, and the remainder of the building dedicated to being the community councils headquarters.
As the old library became more and more used by the local schools, as well as local people, the facilities available at the old library were deemed to be to inadequate. In 2008, the library was moved to Plas Pentwyn, leaving the old library's sole purpose as the headquarters for Coedpoeth Community Council, which has had a growing role in recent years.
Locality
Coedpoeth is surrounded by countryside with views of the CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
plain and the town of Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
. In the neighbouring Clywedog
Clywedog
Clywedog may refer to:* River Clywedog, a tributary of River Dee near Wrexham* A tributary of the River Mawddach* Clywedog Reservoir, a reservoir in the Welsh county of Powys* River Clywedog, Denbigh, a tributary of the River Clwyd...
valley there are several walks.
The highest point of the village is Rock Place at 800 feet (245 m) above sea-level. The neighbouring village of Bwlchgwyn
Bwlchgwyn
Bwlchgwyn is a village in Wrexham county borough, Wales, on the A525 road, west of the town of Wrexham and south-east of the town of Ruthin. Bwlchgwyn is part of the community of Brymbo...
, is one of several claiming to be the highest village in Wales, at 1090 feet (333 m).
The area is prone to snowfall, and has suffered localised flooding in recent years.